What I Remember Most About “The Macho Man” Randy Savage

Francisco Q. Delgado

It was the fifth match of the evening. My parents left the room justbefore it started – I thought to make dinner or pay bills orsomething.

“The Macho Man” Randy Savage sprinted down the entranceway. Forweeks, he endured the taunts of Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect, whothreatened to show uncompromising photos of his wife. He was battlingfor more than just a championship tonight. He was fighting for love,and all of us watching at home – as well as the hundreds of thousandsin attendance – cheered him on because of it.

I remember the wild swings in momentum. How “The Macho Man” seemeddestined to win in the first five minutes, and how in the ten minutesafter that, while Flair mercilessly picked him apart, he seemed doomedto fail.

I also remember Mr. Perfect’s acts of interference. How he hit “TheMacho Man” with a metal chair when the referee wasn’t looking. How heslipped Ric Flair brass knuckles. And most importantly how hedisrupted the count when “The Macho Man” soared halfway across thering and hit his patented elbow drop.

I remember how Savage’s wife, Miss Elizabeth, strode to ringside. Sheslammed her palms on the canvas, rousing her husband to his feet, andwe followed her lead, banging our hands on living room floors andcoffee tables around the world. Thanks to our efforts, “The MachoMan” ultimately found the wherewithal to reverse Flair’s momentum andscoop him up into a pin.

I remember the elation of a woman whose honor was restored. Thesatisfaction of a husband blinded by rage for so long. What I don’tremember are the sound of my dad’s footsteps as he walked past meout the door. The sound of his and my mom’s hushed voices as theyspoke about the ‘other woman.’ I don’t even remember the emptiness inthe room because of my dad’s departure, enamored as I was by all thepomp and circumstance resounding triumphant that night atWrestlemania.

Where husbands defended their wives. Where romance wasn’t just something my mom read about in those books from Wal-Mart.

It was a feeling that I thought would last forever.

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Francisco Delgado’s wrestler name would be “The Guam Phenom” Jonny Tsunami. His finishing move would be the Tsunami Splash, a leap from the top turnbuckle onto his laid out opponent.